


Cannibalism is bad for your eyes.

by mutelation



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Blood, Community: homesmut, Gen, Gore, Guts - Freeform, M/M, Other, a lot of guts, canibalism, dead stuff, hannibal lector as fuck, i just wanna finish this thing, im sorry, unnamed fillers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-01 20:17:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4033159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mutelation/pseuds/mutelation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is a cannibal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. he was a boy of soft demeanor.

**Author's Note:**

> no, really. AU where john simply grows into a cannibalistic killer, there are a few hannibal inspired things... read if you dare.
> 
> there will be eventual davejohn and a lot of blood and self injury, fair warning. there will also be a lot of a suspicious feisty rose and some silly drama. there is also a plot and a very twisted but sort of probably happy ending.
> 
> i have 8 chapters to post after heavy editing, this is the first one. based on a very old prompt back in the livejournal days of homesmut (2k11 txt it), wherein someone simply requested "john is a cannibal" and i took it way, way too far. i still have 2 scenes written out in a shitty old journal on my bookshelf... so that is technically 10 whole chapters. how long it takes me to reread everything and fix it enough to post it, however, is another tale. i'd really like to finish this story as it was one of my favorite things back in the day that helped me get through a lot, so i hope that whoever reads this enjoys it to some extent.

He couldn't quite remember when he'd gotten into all this stuff, but over the years gore had become a large part of his life. After the first few years of school went badly, John's dad had decided that maybe he would be better off being home-schooled, so he hired him two tutors. It worked out perfectly, for awhile; he had to switch them up every few years or so because they'd get uncomfortable or even freaked out by John. It broke his dad's heart to think that there was something wrong or unpleasant about his son, because John was always so sweet and soft-spoken around him.

His dad could never understand why people got weirded out by John; in his eyes, his son was quiet, shy, a little bit clumsy, and maybe a little too mature for his age. Sure, he read about a lot of odd things, like anatomy, death, biology, psychology, human vegetables, and all kinds of deformities... but it was okay for teenagers to be interested in learning about things. Right? John was just curious about human nature, that's all; at least that's what he told his dad.

When John was twelve years old one of his tutors mysteriously went missing. The police came to talk to them and John cried, acting absolutely shocked and afraid. A few days later they found the body by the river, half of it cut up and missing certain parts of the body and a few of the organs, including the heart, brain, liver, and kidneys. The cops figured that whoever killed the guy just wanted to sell his organs on the black market or something, and it was left at that. There was no physical evidence, no leads, no connections, nothing. John had been so, so proud of himself.

They had lived in the same house all his life, in a quiet and boring neighborhood near an old Betty Crocker factory that had been damaged structurally in a bad fire years ago. Nothing much ever happened. Though John didn't like to be around crowds or people he did enjoy walking a lot. Beyond the abandoned factory was a nice, large wooded area. Not quite a forest, but a very beautiful and large place nonetheless. There were some nice paths around the riverbank and a few clearings that were quiet and serene. Every now and then he'd get his dad to go for a walk with him and everything would be divine.

At least four times a week, John went out on walks and sometimes he'd draw or paint or collect rocks. To add to his image of being a harmless, albeit antisocial kid, he used to even play around in the backyard. Make believe was easy. Reading, writing, studying, growing flowers and vegetables in the backyard, watching movies, and baking were other things he partook of to keep up his image for his father. The man never suspected a thing.

When John went out for his walks on his own, after years of getting to know the layout of the area as well as the factory itself, he set up a laboratory for himself. It started with him catching neighborhood strays and small animals in the woods. The first time he killed an animal, he was six years old and it had been an accident. No, that wasn't right; it had been an experiment. He wanted to see how hard you had to squeeze to choke a kitten to death. After that, he just started picking up more and more animals, which for one reason or another seemed to like him. It was easy work. He learned a few things and it became some sort of game as he grew older, to always try and learn something new when he went outside.

When he was ten, he began cutting them up and studying their insides and that was what had gotten him into anatomy. From there he went on to collect blood and paint with it, and he macerated quite the collection of skulls. He was just lucky that the factory was so large with such an elaborate basement. There were many times when he would get paranoid about his special place being found, but for the most part he felt safe and secure. Nobody bothered or cared much about the factory; it might have been an eyesore, but there hadn't been enough complaints to tear it down, and no business seemed to want to buy the location.

He was neat, tidy, and meticulous. His concentration and intensity was half the reason his tutors got uncomfortable, that and the fact that he wasn't afraid to ask questions. Once, one of the tutors had compared him to Hannibal Lecter and John's dad had been appalled. That was not a suitable thing to say about a twelve year old boy! But when his tutor had gone missing a year later and the police had questioned him, they too pointed out some of his odd behaviors. They recommended that he see a child psychiatrist, and that had really angered him. There was nothing wrong with his brilliant son.

The tutor who'd gone missing was his first human target. Unbeknownst to his father, he had set up a "study date" in the park, which had then turned into a walk in the woods, which had then been directed towards the factory with curious and innocent questions about the fire. They explored the ground level of the place, the older man telling him a few stories he recalled having been in the papers when it happened. From there it'd been a simply matter of acting quickly so his prey had no time to react; all he had to do was smash his head in a few times with a hammer and drag his body downstairs. It wasn't like anyone could see them.

Exploring the human body and all of its wonders had been the best thing to ever happen to John. The first incision, the first time he'd took out an organ, the first time he'd tasted human blood and flesh, it was like he'd been reborn; from that day on he was a whole new person, someone confident and hungry. The feeling of knowing about as much of the human body as possible and the action of cutting, draining, and gutting a body was just exhilarating for him. Touching bone and peeling away nerves and veins was an interesting thing to him and he decided that he wanted more.

The reason that John had decided to taste his tutor's flesh was simple curiosity. He'd read online that thigh meat tasted like veal, and that the skin was coarse and hard to chew. He'd also read about the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas, not to mention the indigenous people of North America, about tribes in jungles all over the world, Norway, Japan, and Vietnam. It was interesting to read about why people ate each other and what they thought it meant or what kind of special power they might derive from it. John hadn't deluded himself, of course; he highly doubted eating a teachers heart would make him any healthier or stronger, but it sure was invigorating.

Eating it raw had been a bad idea, and most of it didn't taste that great. He bought himself a hot pan with his saved up allowance a day or two later and attempted to use it in the factory. Of course, the electricity didn't work and that was a bit of a problem. So he bought a power generator next and from there, things went smoothly. He just cooked a chunk of thigh and some brain at first, only adding a bit of salt and pepper, but after the rest of the body began to rot he tried making a stir fry. It didn't turn out that bad and even though the basement stunk for weeks, he savored it. .

But then there was the predicament of having nowhere to store his new favorite meals, and also the problem of disposing of the body. Mostly that had been inspired by tv, but after his next kill he realized that keeping the bodies was better than dumping them, and because the factory was so large he could at least put them far, far away so the smell of decaying organic matter wouldn't be too overwhelming.


	2. "if you wanna find out what's behind these cold eyes"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"So ya_   
>  _Thought ya_   
>  _Might like to go to the show._   
>  _To feel the warm thrill of confusion_   
>  _That space cadet glow._   
>  _Tell me is something eluding you, sunshine?_   
>  _Is this not what you expected to see?_   
>  _If you wanna find out what's behind these cold eyes_   
>  _You'll just have to claw your way through this disguise."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is a lot of blood and mentions of dead people and the like. also there is some morbid shipping starting right meow.

His father, of course, never pried about how he'd suddenly spent a little over $300 in one day. John had explained to him sheepishly that he'd made some friends online and had bought them birthday presents, since their birthdays were all so near to each others. Despite the lack of actual human interaction, John's father was just happy to know that he wasn't alone, that he had some kind of kids his age to talk to. For christmas that year, he bought John a brand new laptop with a mic and webcam. Any contact was better than none, especially once he was sure John’s friends weren’t old perverts.

By his fourteenth birthday, John was much wiser about dealing with people and hiding his unsettling qualities. He stuck to the appearance of "shy and derpy, nervous but funny" and adopted a new persona to portray to his online friends. He even went out into the real world, to places like malls and movie theatres. Like all good parents, his father was apprehensive about letting his son go downtown alone but he didn't want to dissuade his son’s choice to try and partake in society. Occasionally he dropped John off somewhere, or called his cellphone to check up with him. Once or twice he even followed John around for a bit, mostly afraid someone might try to hurt him or that, god forbid, he was doing drugs.

John took his studying seriously and put a whole lot of effort into his classes, moving himself up several grades in a smooth succession (he had gone back to public school a year prior and had been fitting in just fine). One of his online friends, a certain Miss Lalonde, was nearly as sharp as John. They discussed which schools they were going to go to for university and about the classes and courses they were interested in. She was the only one of his friends who really took any legitimate interest in school.

For awhile his life evened out and his darker side went dormant. He went six whole months without killing something, a new personal record since his early days. Though he still spent a lot of time looking at endless pictures depicting gored, maimed, and brutalized corpses, John otherwise stepped into the typical life of a teenager. He still had no real life friends to speak of, but he was friendly with the librarians at the public library a couple of blocks from his house, and he'd charmed a few of the workers at local book stores. On his outings into the real world John spent most of his time charming people until it was a perfected art. He had to be good if he wanted to keep Rose off of his back. As much as he enjoyed their heated discussions and debates, and as much as he enjoyed the workings of her mind, she was too insightful. She was aware that something was a bit off about him, which had freaked him out at first, but now it was a welcome feeling.

He never discussed gore or dead things with her. The person he did discuss such things with was a certain potentially albino coolkid from Texas, one Davis Strider. John's initial attraction to him had been a mixture between his crude words and ridiculous metaphors, and his bluntness. Then John had discovered Dave's weird fascination with preserved dead things, his shared passion for anatomy, his seemingly masochistic views on pain, and his mixed feelings for his older brother. John had met Dave through Rose, and had met Jade through Dave. She was the oddest of the three people he decided to bond with, to a degree, but he found it enjoyable how different from each other they were.

Jade had fascinating stories to tell about her travels around the world and the people she'd met. There were many things she had experienced in her short fifteen years of life that John figured would take him years of careful planning to do. The best part about her was that she seemed interested in knowing everything and thus she shared her knowledge about lost tribes, cultures from all over the world, notes about ruins and ancient temples, and all sorts of Indiana Jones explorer-type stuff. The first time she'd told him a story he'd been rather skeptical; after all, reading the emotion of text on a screen was a bit of a challenge. But it was one that he enjoyed. When John seemed dubious of her words, Jade just sent him a few pictures that her grandpa had taken of her with various people from various countries. From then on, she showed him lots of photos, all of which he found a lot more enticing than the artistic hipster things Dave took pictures of.

But Dave soon became John's favored friend. John found out that Dave had really odd hobbies outside of his shitty photography (which he openly admitted was shitty) and mad turntable skills. He enjoyed preserved dead things in jars so much that he actually owned a pig's fetus in a jar, along with a large collection of insects stuck in amber or pinned to boards. Dave liked gore, too, and violence especially; that part was likely due to his brother being such a violent person while somehow managing to still take care of Dave without being too much of an abuser (besides the whole beating the shit out of him and having sword fights, which of course was all for the greater good, somehow). He even liked roadkill, which he began to photograph in a casual manner to share with John.

For months and months and months after getting better acquainted, he and Dave spent endless hours in the early mornings sending each other gory pictures, ranging from amputees to maiming to rape victims to suicide. They read about serial killers from all over the world together and often got into heated debates about who had better techniques. From there, they began watching excessively gory horror films, then just plain out gore films, and finally Dave ended up finding them some snuff. This excited John and reminded him of his previous escapades, and through much blunt and persistent harassing, Dave got him to admit that he was aroused by gore and death.

Immersing himself in so much of his favorite hobby online deterred him from going out so often. He couldn't help but torture and skin a few cats from time to time, but he left the factory alone for several months. He figured it was for the best anyway, because distancing himself from the actual act of death would probably keep him from becoming addicted. John had some serious life plans laid out by now and didn't want to jeopardize anything by being overzealous. Besides, he now had three people to keep him busy, one of which fed his darkest desires willingly enough.

Sometimes when Dave was feeling overly apathetic or angry (but never depressed; Dave would never say he was sad or feeling hopeless, he was always just angry or apathetic as if they were his only emotions) he would ask John about the best way to die, what the best deaths they read about were, and sometimes he even asked John if he'd kill him. Something about that comment struck him as a bit too close to home, regardless of Dave having no clue about John's experience with death. For awhile he was cold toward both Dave and Rose, sure that someone had been talking to the other behind his back, but Dave kept pestering him anyway.

He and Dave began to video chat from time to time. They would laugh and tell stupid jokes and sometimes hit on each other, but that always turned into an ironic come on/insult battle. Whenever they were on video, Dave would have to bust out a rhyme at least once every hour, but John was used to his odd sense of poetic justice. Dave called himself a "death rapper" and his lyrics became increasingly morbid, much to John's pleasure. It was easy to pick up on the fact that Dave was doing it on purpose to get him going a little bit even though John made sure to hide any arousal he might get between the lyrics directed at him and all the rest of the shit they were obsessed with.*

Then one night after Dave had had a particularly nasty fight with his brother (bearing a large black eye and bruised jawline as witness to the event, though Dave always assured John that he was okay with getting beat up) Dave casually asked John if he had any blood fetishes he should be aware of.

They didn't always use the microphones when they went on chat, mostly because Dave was almost constantly listening to music. When they did have the mic on and John felt like cheering his friend up, he occasionally played the piano or violin for Dave. The stark contrast between John's classical music and his own electronica/dubstep/rap ensemble never ceased to have an effect on Dave. But since they had the mics off tonight, Dave was bobbing his head slightly, his jaw clenched tight. John was idly drawing a few diagrams of the endocrine system and not even bothering to try to change Dave's mood. He'd been snappy and wordy for hours by now, so there was just no point in it. When he glanced up at the screen again, he realized Dave had been typing to him for awhile. He was waving his hand slightly at the webcam to try and get John's attention.

> **TG: you cocksucking duck lipped bucktoothed idiot of a man**  
>  **TG: been like fucking ten minutes now pay the fuck attention to me**  
>  **TG: im like some needy little thirteen year old scene girl atm**  
>  **TG: s(he) be(lie)ve(d) and all that shit**  
>  **TG: love me or ill kill myself**  
>  **TG: i mean it im done with living anyway fucks the point**  
>  **TG: eat breathe shit die**  
>  **TG: repeat**  
>  **TG: seriously john tear your eyes away from your asshat drawin and turn your fucking pugly ass face in my direction already**  
>  **TG: fucks the point of even being on cam if youre just gunna draw your shit ass diagrams**  
>  **TG: cant it fuckin wait til later**  
>  **EB: sorry dave! <3**  
>  **EB: was just thinking of your hot butt and i was like, "damn, i need to draw this shit out in the most detailed way possible and be as anatomically correct as possible and i'm going to label every single thing!" so i did.**  
>  **TG: dude you seriously drew my ass anatomically correct**  
>  **TG: did you get every little dimple and pimple down to the dot**  
>  **EB: yes, of course dave! since you've sent me so many pictures of your ass.**  
>  **TG: hahaha dude you wish**  
>  **TG: its like you dont even try not to be a fag**  
>  **TG: and yeah i know no homo smd**  
>  **TG: anyway now that youre lookin finally i wanna show you something**  
>  **TG: so pay the fuck attention dipshit**  
>  **EB: if you're going to whip your cock out and masturbate furiously to my face, don't you think we should pull up some dead bodies first? to even the playing grounds a bit...**

Dave just grins at him from the other side of John's screen and pulls out a two-inch serrated pocket knife, blade open and covered in either rust or dried blood. John raised an eyebrow slightly in question even though he was pretty sure of where this was going. Dave quickly tugged off his shirt and then pressed the blade against the already scarred flesh of his right bicep and sliced through the skin with ease, leaving a beautiful gash that quickly filled and then overflowed with blood. Dave watched John watching him through his shades and couldn't help but feel pleased at the change in John's facial expression.

John had suspected that Dave was a cutter for awhile now, mostly from the way he spoke about himself and about how easy it was to control pain, but he never thought that Dave would do something this impulsive. He'd wanted to see Dave's cuts and scars for awhile now, but hadn't asked out of consideration to Dave's mental health. It bordered dangerously close to caring, which had happened with the girls too (in less obviously morbid ways). Dave grinned at him and took his sunglasses off, another extremely rare thing; John's gaze briefly left the wound to look into those bright, weird tawny eyes in something akin to hunger. Dave made two more cuts and then put the blade down and, making sure John was watching with full attention, rubbed his hand over the blood and smudged some over his chest.

It was the single most attractive thing John had ever witnessed, partially because of how intimate it seemed, and partially because it was live. Though John had never considered himself to be sexually attracted to either gender, and though gore and death seemed to be the only things that literally aroused him, he felt his lower stomach suddenly fill with heat as he began to get a boner. His face didn't betray him, thankfully, but Dave could obviously tell that John was pleasantly surprised. He wiped up more blood and applied some to his cheek in streaks and for some reason that sight made John shiver, just a tiny bit. It was most certainly erotic, homo-erotic technically, even though there was nothing specifically gay about someone smearing blood on themselves.

The final straw was Dave licking some of it off of his fingers, staring intently into the camera lens instead of at the screen, to make it seem as if he were staring right at John, who found himself enjoying the added effect greatly. Neither of them said anything because the mics were off and neither of them wanted to break the moment by typing, so John just watched Dave play with his blood until his cuts finally began to clot and scab over. John mentally scolded himself for not taking any screen caps of the ordeal. Though John made no move to ease his aching boner, Dave probably knew what he'd done. With drying, flaking blood on his face, he winked at John and even blew him a kiss, which John considered to be affirmation of Dave's homosexuality.

> **TG: so anyway not like i meant to give you a raging boner or anything**  
>  **TG: which im sure you totally dont have right now cuz youre not a flamer youre a lamer**  
>  **TG: im just gunna go wash up before bro gets home and sees me and sends me off to some mental institution**  
>  **TG: take care of yourself ill bbs**

John couldn't help but chuckle slightly and maybe even blush a little, but Dave exited the cams shortly after typing that, leaving John to himself to do whatever he pleased.


	3. at the heart of it all.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John gets hungry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rypc3u0Crw

After that tantalizing experience the urge to slaughter someone and see them drenched in blood became strong. Not only that, his stomach yearned for the taste of flesh that he'd come to enjoy so much and had been neglecting for nearly a year. The need was so strong and urgent that he went out the very next day, straight to the nearest bookstore where he proceeded to seduce one of the younger teenage clerks. She was probably still a few years older than him, and puberty hadn't quite gotten far enough along to get rid of his innocence and baby fat, but she seemed to think he was a little cutie. John couldn't care less what she thought of him so long as she agreed to go on a date with him, which she did.

 

She was working late that night but said that she would be up for going to a movie or something with him tomorrow if he wasn't busy, which he wasn't. After getting her number he left after a few flattering words and then quickly made his way back to the factory, a place he hadn't been to in weeks. Upon hitting the basement level, the scent of decay instantly rose to his nose, but he didn't mind at all. In fact it was actually a bit welcoming, heartwarming even. He wondered why he'd been away from this so long and how he could ever think pictures or movies were better than the real thing. Adrenaline was already coursing through him at the thought so he decided to get everything ready for tomorrow and then ended up going for a long walk around the woods. John had left home around noon that day and when he was heading back there night had fallen.

 

His dad inquired about his whereabouts and what he'd done with his day, and John was completely honest though he of course excluded the part about being in the factory. He'd been told many times to stay away from the place and gave every impression that he did. They ate dinner together and then played a few board games, one of their few shared interests that both enjoyed. Scrabble was always a favorite. John won twice but his dad won the rest of them, apparently an adept at the art of word building. They both enjoyed the time together and after several games and cups of hot chocolate had been shared John excused himself, figuring he should go see what was up with the gang. As soon as he booted up his computer and signed online, he was assaulted by offline messages from all three of them, all asking what he was doing and where he was.

 

> GG: heeeeeeeey john!! i've never seen you offline for so long before!
> 
> GG: usually either you or dave are ALWAYS online, it's actually kind of scary!!! and probably not all that healthy hehe.
> 
> GG: anyway, i hope you're out having fun! :D it's been awhile since you've actually gone out, i think.
> 
> GG: when you get back let me know, even if i'm idle! i've got some awesome pictures from hawaii!
> 
> GG: <3
> 
>  
> 
> TT: Should I be worried about your prolonged absence? You're usually idle at all times when you're not at the computer.
> 
> TT: Perhaps you didn't sleep that well, which shouldn't be a surprise given your unstable sleep cycle. Have you been having any odd dreams? It's been awhile since we discussed dreams together. Maybe you've just outgrown the pondering routine and exchange, which is understandable since neither of us seem to have had any exciting dreams these days.
> 
>  
> 
> TT: Just spoke to Dave. He seems a little bit anxious and worried about you, and he seems guilty for some reason. Not that I'm trying to pry or anything, as I hold the utmost respect for your personal choices and privacy, but, did something happen?
> 
> TT: Alright, clearly you're not going to be back for awhile. Be safe, John. Be sensible.
> 
>  
> 
> TG: dude where the fuck are you
> 
> TG: you were idle when i got back and then i wake up to you being offline
> 
> TG: then youre gone all day and im like shit this cant be a coincidence
> 
> TG: like whats different in our usual gag oh right i sort of cut myself and smeared blood all over like a stupid fucking vampire enthusiast or some shit
> 
> TG: and now youre gone so maybe that was just a little bit too awkward
> 
> TG: i wasnt trying to like
> 
> TG: fuck
> 
> TG: hit on you or anything not like legit i mean
> 
> TG: im not gay for your man meat or anything i just thought youd get a kick out of it
> 
> TG: anyway w/e youre a gaping vagina the size of a hallway thanks for making me feel really awkward
> 
> TG: im gunna go get my ass kicked and write some shitty rap smell ya later homes
> 
>  
> 
> TG: oh and im sorry
> 
> TG: if i did make you feel uncomfortable or something
> 
> TG: though im still like 99% sure you wanked anyway you cockmonger

 

For the first time in possibly his whole life, John felt bad about himself. Not about his intentions for the girl, but about Dave and not thinking to at least let him know he'd be away from the computer for awhile. Hell, he should have made a few stabs about getting some pussy or something, but he'd been too focused on his urges and desires. Jade was offline and both Rose and Dave were idle, neither of them replying when John finally got back to them. An hour and a half later Dave messaged him back and they chatted for awhile, John giving Dave a genuine apology and explaining the safe parts of his day and going on to make those jabs about getting laid, though he also admitted to finding Dave’s little cam show arousing. .

 

Both he and Dave had spoken about killing animals, which both of them had done before apparently. It was the most he'd ever told anyone about himself, but of course he never told Dave exactly when or how many animals he'd harmed. He considered talking about that for awhile, but then he decided against it.Neither of them hated animals or particularly enjoyed preying on the weak, it seemed as though (in Dave’s case at least) that most of the experiences had been opportunity striking.

 

Though Dave had brushed everything off and acted like the misunderstanding didn't matter, John could tell something was still wrong. They went about their usual late night ritual of gore hunting and at one point or another Rose was online, so he made sure to talk to her as well. He was extremely careful of what he said and decided to exclude the whole date thing altogether, instead opting to tell her he'd finally made a real life friend. He alluded to it being a casual and enjoyable conversation, nothing more, and was thrilled when Rose took the bait and began to tease him and ask increasingly outrageous questions.

  
Dave went to bed a lot earlier than usual without even complaining about his insomnia. That made John quite certain there was something wrong, but it didn't matter for now. He talked to Rose for another few hours instead and seemed to satisfy her with all the discussion and attention. He went to bed as the sun peaked through his window and awoke in the early afternoon. After a shower and a refreshing (but not satisfying or tasty) meal, he went back to his room to talk to his chums. Dave was online but idle, but Jade was there too, so he got her to show him her new pictures. His heart wasn't really in the discussion though; John couldn't help but fantasize about the next evening and his new scrumptious meal.


	4. "normal is an illusion, what is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :o)

His date went well enough though John found it a little boring. Instead of taking her to a movie, he took her out to dinner to a mildly fancy but informal restaurant. He got his dad to drive him to the girls house and then drop them off at the restaurant, beforehand telling his dad he wouldn't need a ride after as he planned to take her for cotton candy and a nice walk in the park. Girls loved that kind of stuff, he said, stars and having feelings jams and talking about nice things. His dad couldn't help but laugh a little and tell John that he was so, so proud of him. When they arrived at the girls house, John introduced her to his father who proceeded to talk about embarrassing childhood things to up what he referred to as his "prankster's gambit".

John played along with it to seem normal, acting bashful and whining at his dad. His date seemed to find it amusing enough. After being dropped off and going inside and being seated, they ordered their food right away and then got to know each other a little bit. Everything John told her was a lie, a carefully constructed story that aimed to be enticing. She bought it completely and by the time they were finished dessert and went to pay (John wouldn't let her chip in, he said it was a gentleman's job to woo his lady, to which she replied to by saying he was a sexist pig, though she was joking), the girl was nearly completely enamored with him, so blindly and easily charmed that John was sure she'd sleep with him if he tried. As they walked around in their light jackets and discussed Roman vs Greek mythology, he toyed with the idea of actually trying it but no matter how hard he attempted to find it appealing, he just wasn't into it.

Not that he minded. Getting laid wasn't his goal here, getting her into the factory was. From there everything would be simple and fun, and he found himself salivating at the mere thought of it. He was giddy and bubbly and very witty, constantly making her let out genuine laughter. He told her that he wanted to go for a walk and take her by the river and the woods, which he made sure to mention were safe and very pretty. They walked and talked until John began to get bored and impatient, so he made sure to steer them towards the old factory. When she saw it she became slightly apprehensive, telling him it looked ugly and scary. John reassured her that it wasn't so bad and went on to tell her about what had happened to the place, all the while leading them closer.

His soon to be meal followed him right up to the building, staring at it in awe, but didn't want to go inside. It was old, large, covered in soot and rust, and looked terribly unwelcoming. She even said it was a little bit frightening. So John told her that he'd been inside the place before on more than one occasion, and that he spent a lot of the time doing "art" here. He told her what a calm, inspirational feel it had to it, which finally seemed to pique her interest. It was probably only because he told her he kept most of his supplies inside, preferring not to leave it at home. Of course she wanted to see what he painted and finally relented to going inside, sticking very close to John.

Their arms and hands kept brushing and John was sure she was going to grab his arm at any moment but she didn't. The deeper into the building they went the darker everything got, and then there was the smell. At first she gagged a little bit and looked aghast, and John feigned the same face.

"Disgusting! What's that smell? It's like... something rotten," The girl said, making a face and plugging her nose. "I think I might puke."

Sick of her presence and content with their location and situation, John pulled out one of his many scalpels (bought for him by his father when he was taking biology and his tutor brought him a few frogs and pigs to dissect, a thing John made sure his dad knew he was interested in solely for learning about the inner workings of living beings because he was thinking of being a doctor, which of course was a great pleasure for his dearest father to hear) and slunk up beside her, not even bothering to respond. She turned slightly, thinking he might be about to embrace her comfortingly, and only registered the blade after it had slid across her throat.

Her eyes went wide and blood immediately poured down her chest, ruining her pretty blouse.

John watched her gag and choke on her own blood with a smile on his face, enjoying the explosion of red. She fell to her knees before him in shock and clutched at his pants; he quickly stepped away to avoid getting any of the mess on himself. She attempted to crawl towards him but instead collapsed and then convulsed a little bit, still gurgling and sputtering, until finally her body lay still. With one of his feet he carefully kicked her over onto her back to stare at her in satisfaction. After soaking up the image he leaned forward and took hold of one of her wrists to drag her down to the basement.

He got her back to his special place and let go of her wrists to grab himself some latex gloves. Everything in this building was meticulously void of his fingerprints or any other traces of himself there might be. Should anyone else bother entering the building and stumbling upon his morbid little hobby, John was quite sure that it wouldn't get linked back to him. It was better to be overly cautious than to get caught.

After removing her clothes (and his own) to better view her body to cut out the juicy pieces he'd been dreaming of, he took a moment to stop and stare. He'd killed women before, only two of them, but they had been older ladies and John had had absolutely no attraction to them. Even with this young, supple body before him, he still felt no reaction to seeing her breasts or anything else, though he appreciated the beauty she held. Experimentally, he leaned forward and placed a hand on one of her breasts and caressed it, letting his thumb slide over the nipple a few times. He gave it a little bit of a squeeze and marvel led at how soft her skin was, but found that the most arousing thing about the situation was that she was dead.

"Dead girls don't say no," He mumbled to himself as he made the first incision. Cutting her up was easy but John made sure to take his time and savor the feeling and the rush. He smeared blood over his body in imitation of Dave and that sight seemed more satisfying than anything else. He separated certain parts of her into plastic containers and began to cook up a quick meal for himself. It tasted a lot better than the one he'd eaten earlier despite only being meat bits of sin and spices, and he was fairly impressed with how his cooking skills had progressed.

One day, he decided he would start cooking supper at home. And maybe, one day, he would bring home some of his treats, though he'd have to be careful. As he put things away and cleaned up John fantasized about sharing his meals with someone. His father would think the taste was odd, but John doubted he'd figure out what it was. Rose would know, somehow. She was sharp and had a hawks eye and she knew at least a little bit about his inner workings, which was a bother. But she didn't know what Dave did; Dave would probably eat this stuff, knowingly or not... Jade would think it was some old tribal delicacy, or maybe she'd seen and met cannibals herself. It was always hard to tell with her, she told too many wild stories to keep up with. 

John chuckled into the empty room and then stood up and grabbed both of the girls wrists to drag her off to the decaying room. Her body was mostly just skin and bones, but he had no time nor interest in skinning her or macerating the bones. Now all he wanted to do was get home and prepare his shock for when the inevitable call would come from her parents wondering where she was.

He left the factory and headed for home, greeting his father happily upon his arrival. He proceeded to talk about their wonderful date and how nice she had seemed, how good supper was, and how their starlit walk had been calm and nice. John made sure to include that she had insisted on walking home by herself since she didn't live too far from where they ended up (and neither of them had enough cash left for a cab by then), which seemed to make his dad a little worried, but John did his best to make it sound good. He figured that after this one he should probably go for strangers instead of people he had contact with in case things got too messy.


	5. i reject this fucking race.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Drones since the dawn of time_  
>  _Compelled to live your sheltered lives_  
>  _Not once has anyone ever seen_  
>  _Such a rise of pure hypocrisy_  
>  _I'll instigate, I'll free your mind_  
>  _I'll show you what I've known all this time."_  
> . . .  
>  _"Homicide, suicide_  
>  _Hate heals, you should try it sometime_  
>  _Strive for peace with acts of war_  
>  _The beauty of death we all adore_  
>  _I have no faith distracting me_  
>  _I know why your prayers will never be answered."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wherein i am obviously intelligent and eloquent as fuck, and john is the worlds best actor. also i apologize that every second chapter seems to be fairly short.

After the talk he went and had a quick shower and then jumped online. Rose was the only one there, so he talked to her about scholarly things rather than discuss his date. He told her that he thought college wouldn't be so bad after all and inquired about her future plans once again. Rose, who was graduating within the year, had discussed which schools she wanted to go to with him many times before and this time they both decided on one that suited both of their needs. It would be exciting to meet her for the first time, but John was very aware of the fact that it would probably make his lifestyle harder unless he made her understand. At one point they talked about the idea of all four of them attending the same school, but Jade had no reason to go to school because she was rich beyond belief and already living the life she wanted. Dave held little interest in school, though John and Rose had been trying to working on that, telling him he could major in music or become a taxidermist or work in a morgue and do autopsies, whatever his bleak little heart desired.

John was a little disappointed when Dave didn't show up at all that evening. Chances were high that Dave had just been fighting with his brother and maybe got his ass whooped a lot harder than he'd expected. It had happened before; Jade would make a big fuss about it and cry child abuse but Rose seemed to understand that it was a mutual thing between them. The Strider brothers were just odd and traditional and communicated in an extremely uncommon way. Rose had analyzed the hell out of it, since she'd met Dave online when she was ten years old. Because of the way that Dave responded and returned the abuse by fighting back, and the fact that he seemed to enjoy it, it wasn't really so bad; hell it was even possibly therapeutic. Rose would get preachy about it whenever she was mad at him about something, and she would assault John's eyes with a wall of angry lavender until they burned.

The call came about four hours later. John could tell that it was "the one" because of the long pauses between his fathers rumbling voice. He prepared to be ignorant. Twenty minutes later, Dad walked up the stairs and knocked gently on John's door. He didn't wait for an invitation and simply just opened the door, walking into his room with a worried expression on his face. John turned to look at him in slight confusion but general happiness; of course he was happy to see his dad, and pretended not to feel the tension in the air.

"John, I just spoke to Jennifer's father. It seems as though there has been a tragic mishap, wherein she has not made it home yet. I'm sure you've noticed that it's been awhile since you got home, so this is a lot of stress suddenly. It's okay, don't cry." John showed no signs of crying, but he was sure to look a little worried and surprised.

"Oh, that... is she okay? Did she, um, did she not call them or something?" He made sure to frown as if his heart had just sunk. Look guilty and regret not walking her home.

"No, she did not. It's okay son, it's not your fault. You were very gentlemanly, it's okay." He crossed the room and sat on John's bed.

The conversation was agonizingly slow and comforting, and John was bored ten minutes in but still managed to look worried and upset. He followed his dad downstairs and talked to the girls father on the phone for nearly half an hour. They wanted to call the police and did try, but they were told they had to wait at least 24 hours before it was considered a missing person case. This was obviously very upsetting so things went back and forth for hours, the mother and father alternating between calling the Egberts. Finally there was nothing left to do but go to bed, but by the time that happened John was the one being blamed. Her dad was very angry with him and blaming the whole thing on John, which he only viewed as ironic. He managed to make himself cry a little bit and feigned a lot of guilt and a few hours later he was finally off to bed. Before actually trying to do that, he jumped online to see if Dave was on yet, but he wasn't, and the only messages he had gotten were from Jade.

So he went to bed and slept in a little bit, waking up to his dad telling him the girls parents would be over soon. John had expected this too, so he made sure to look extra tired and distressed. After arriving, her dad immediately began to rant at him and get mad, even ended up yelling at him for a good hour and a half, though John's dad did is best to calm the man down, and his wife was constantly tugging him away. The rage the man felt was a little amusing to John, who looked down at his feet the whole time.

John didn't get much of a chance to sneak away to sit on his computer, or read, or draw, or anything. He was forced to sit in the living room with the three adults until finally her parents could call the cops. It was all quite boring until they arrived, and then John had to go through two hours of intensive questioning. Thankfully the disappearance of several of his tutors was not brought up. Then they were left alone, though John's dad was very troubled and exhausted. The searching and questioning went on for nearly a week before the case was, essentially, given up. There was no trace of her and they assumed she'd just been nabbed by a pervert, much to the despair of her parents. He told his friends about the tragic events with awkward wording, trying to seem upset and anxious.

Dave seemed to be amused by her disappearance and practically attempted to torture John with it, saying the most detailed gross things, mostly about people grabbing her and raping her. He spoke of her death intensely and played out several scenarios and John joined in, though he made sure to pretend that he was distressed about it even as he contributed. A week later it didn't even matter to him, but Rose had been acting odd for awhile now. John was sure she was onto his game somehow, that she was spending excruciating time examining him and the situation, and she'd even gone so far as the read about the news in Washington and bring it up in discussion. It was getting a little annoying but he just acted like he was feeling horrible and guilty about it, until finally he just came out and said, "stop blaming me!" which shut her up.

Still, Dave kept up with his taunting and musings. John figured that it was some kind of jealousy and grim relief in her disappearance, and just maybe Dave was hoping it'd been John who made her disappear. It was amusing and possibly even flattering, the way that Dave was so on the mark and didn't realize it. John spent hours and hours flattering and flirting with Dave, generally trying to comfort him and make sure that he knew he was John's favorite. The little crush his internet friend had was cute.


	6. "now my troubles are going to have troubles with me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind._   
>  _Some come from ahead and some come from behind._   
>  _But I've brought a big bat. I'm all ready you see._   
>  _Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is the longest so far, by accident. i tried to break these up to be mildly suspenseful or sorta resolute. i hope it's working? only two more chapters that are prewritten to go. then i'll be typing stuff up, and then finally... the new content, the second half of this beautiful monstrosity i thought up.

One night about a week later, while John was out for a nice little walk before it got too cold out, he was approached by a large man whose face he couldn't see. John stopped walking and slid his hands into his jacket pocket, taking hold of his scalpel blade (why leave home without one? They were much better than regular pocket knives anyway, they went through skin like it was melted butter). The man stumbled towards him drunkenly and by the time he was a few feet away, John knew who it was. He frowned and braced himself for the worst.

 

It was the girls dad, of course, and John was half expecting to suddenly be attacked, but he just stood there and stared at John silently. John stared back calmly and waited for a few minutes until the man finally spoke up.

 

"Something aint right about you boy," was the first thing to leave his lips. "You always seem so distant an' unattached, I don't know how your dad doesn't notice."

 

One of John's eyebrows raised and he frowned a little. Here he had thought he was becoming quite the actor, but apparently he wasn't good enough to fool everyone. He thought back to that day a few weeks ago, when he'd been stuck in his living room with this man. Had he messed up his act somehow? Maybe his tears hadn't been real enough. As far as he could remember, the scene had gone well, or at least the woman and his father had been convinced. Perhaps this man was simply drunk and blaming him; perhaps he'd seen into John's soul and caught a glimpse of the killer he was. Either way, it was disappointing to him that he'd been figured out, especially by a guy like this.

 

The man wavered slightly and took a step back to steady himself. He must have been fairly wasted. John could smell the vodka and whiskey coming off of him in waves. When John made no move to reply, he went on. "Your eyes. They're too bright an' blank. Something wrong about you, you're a bad spirit. Ugly soul. What'd you do to her?"

 

John figured that he must have been a religious man, or maybe he was just really far gone. It didn't sound like he really knew what John was up to; he just sounded like a father with a lost child and a broken heart, blaming the person who'd last seen her (accurately, which was ironic and Dave would probably appreciate that). "Sorry sir, I didn't do anything except for not take her home. It was the wrong thing to do. I understand that a lot of the blame lays on me for not being a proper and sensible person."

 

There was a long silence and then the man grunted. John was still expecting a sudden burst of violence, but there was still a few feet between them. "What kinda game are you playing here?" He took a step forward and John tensed. "It's your fault, you lost my daughter." His eyes narrow and he raises a shaking finger to point at John. "I'm keeping my eye on you. Something is really fuckin' wrong with you kid."

 

John decided that the guy wasn't going to make any move so he just nodded and backed away, and then ran home. He yelled at John's retreating back angrily but John ignored it. Instead of anger or fear all he felt was amusement. It was just another thing he could use to his advantage. A plan was hatching in his head, the perfect plan to clear himself from suspicion, and best of all if things went well he'd get to see Dave. when he got home he had to pause at the doorway to steady himself and produce a few tears. He was slightly flustered and out of breath from running, and a second later he barged in through the door sobbing. His dad immediately dropped what he was doing in the kitchen (baking, John could smell it heavy in the air; dad always baked when he was upset or anxious) and ran to greet John at the back door.

 

It was a little difficult to act shocked and afraid when really he was just excited, but his dad had always been more oblivious to John's oddness. They talked for awhile and then John's dad called the police to file a complaint against Jennifer's dad, at which point John went to go shower and check his pesterchum. Rose was offline, which worked well for now. He immediately messaged Dave even though he was idle, and explained the whole situation, seeming distressed and hassled. Since Dave didn't come back any time soon, he spent almost an hour talking to Jade and catching her up on his circumstances. She was quite shocked about the whole situation, especially by the awkward encounter he'd just had. She offered to buy him a plane ticket so he could come and explore Norway with her. Though it was tempting he obviously had to decline.

 

> EB: and yeah, so he was just like standing there and yelling at me so i just ran home and my dad hugged me and things were ok.
> 
> EB: then dad called the cops.
> 
> GG: omg john! that sounds so scary!!
> 
> GG: im sorry you were alone and that that happened! thats why you should always carry a gun :|
> 
> GG: ill send you one for christmas, okay! then i wont have to spend all my time worrying about you getting attacked by some woe begotten man.
> 
> EB: it's fine jade, really. he didn't even really threaten me! it was just kind of, um, scary and intimidating i guess.
> 
> EB: and it sure made me feel bad. i really wish i had just walked her home.
> 
> GG: dont blame yourself!
> 
> GG: you didnt know it would happen. you told me she only lived a few blocks away anyway.
> 
> GG: some girls are really against the whole proper gentleman thing! seriously trust me, ive met a lot of people.

 

Jade spent an hour or so showing John pictures of guns and talking about proper ways to protect himself. Eventually John told her he was going to try sleeping and they bid farewell, Jade going off to climb an icy mountain or something. By the time Dave was back online John had actually almost been asleep. The only reason he even looked up at the screen was because Dave was video calling him. There was a bell that rang loudly (he'd left his speakers on) which is what had got his attention. John lazily ran a hand over the keyboard, but the the ringing stopped and he sat up a little, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. There was a wall of angry red to greet him.

 

> TG: so jade leaves me some ims saying you were attacked or stalked or something
> 
> TG: by some fuckin drunk
> 
> TG: oh it was that dead girls dad
> 
> TG: shit what the fuck
> 
> TG: what happened did he hurt you
> 
> TG: what a fucking douchebag being all up in your grills like an unsavory chunk of spinach
> 
> TG: i am so not ok with this 
> 
> TG: get a restraining order or im gunna kill the fucker swear to god ill drive over there and ill kill the motherfucker
> 
> TG: jade says he like basically attacked you did he actually touch you
> 
> TG: jesus christ egbert what the fuck are you doing
> 
> TG: dont tell me youre sleeping
> 
> TG: ok she told me like everything that happened basically but i cant tell what she over exaggerated just
> 
> TG: fuck you better be alright
> 
> TG: what a fuckin moronic pig like it had anything to do with you
> 
> TG: dumbshit girls being all feminist and like fuck you dont walk me home i can take care of myself hashtag equality
> 
> TG: cuz walking around any large city alone at night is safe for any gender
> 
> TG: girl power
> 
> TG: stupid bitch
> 
> TG: fuck sakes john seriously
> 
> TG: john
> 
> TG: john
> 
> TG: john
> 
> TG: john 
> 
> TG: and here i went off and thought it was an ok day to not be total garbage and get some sleep
> 
> TG: even had some sweet dreams go figure
> 
> TG: then i get back and sit here for like an hour worrying my ass off and feelin like a prick for not being here for you
> 
> TG: please john come talk to me
> 
> TG: john
> 
> TG: oh fuck it im just gunna call you
> 
> TG: bet you cried yourself to sleep you dumb pussy
> 
> TG: shit sorry
> 
> TG: fuck it why am i flipping my shit
> 
> TG: brb dealing with angst

 

John frowned at the screen immediately realizing what Dave had just gone to do. Occasionally he had a flicker of a conscience and wished that Dave wouldn't slash himself up so much, but most of the time it was something they both enjoyed. He frantically typed just to see if Dave was still there, but after five minutes of no replies he knew he'd have to wait. To keep himself occupied and alert he thought up things he should say that would flatter Dave as well as anger him and make him feel even more protective of John. He'd hint at a bit of longing and say something like, "gee, i really wish you were here dave :(. you could be like my own personal body guard!" and Dave would be done in for good, hook, line, and sinker. Then John would have to move on to the next step of his plan.

 

He stayed home for the next three days, but on the fourth day he decided to go out for a walk. Because it was during the day, his father reluctantly let him out even though he was still worried and made John promise to call him every hour. John made sure to comfort and reassure him that he wouldn't be too long and that he would stay alert. Last night they had received an awkward prank call that was really not a prank call at all, just someone breathing heavily and whispering curses. That call enabled John's dad to get a restraining order, which was an added bonus for John and some peace of mind for Dave.

 

It was a nice day if a bit breezy, chilly enough that John was wearing one of the sweaters Rose had knitted and sent to him. It was a ghastly olive color with a weird black blob on the front that may or may not have been a slimer, but John appreciated it all the same. He actually did like it. Her sweater kept him warm all the way into town, to the nearest gas station. John made his way to the payphone on the side of the building and pushed in a few quarters. Though he had only ever called this number twice, he had it memorized. The mother picked up and John attempted to raise the pitch of his voice and ask for her husband. The woman seemed confused as to why a young girl was calling to speak to him, but she figured it was one of Jennifer's friends or something. Instead of trying to think it out she just called for him to answer the phone, and a few seconds later there was a gruff greeting.

 

John smiled at the phone, which he carefully held away from his face. "Hi Dale, I just wanted to let you know how great your daughter was. Not only was she more than willing to put out, her blood tasted like fruit and even when she was dead and drained her pussy was wet. Pleasurable really. Would you like her skull for a Christmas gift? It could be arranged and I could even fill it with whiskey so you can just drink yourself to death and put your loving wife out of her misery."

 

Bold words that were maybe a little too brash, but his main goal here was to piss the guy off as much as he could. The man began to yell and curse and scream and John just cackled before hanging up. So long as the wife didn't think it was him who'd called John was in the clear. He bought himself a slurpee and then went to the library quickly to take out some books. The books he picked were nearly at random but it didn't really matter. After checking them out he slurped on his overly sugary beverage and walked home with a skip to his stride. He had no clue when the guy might show up, or what he would actually do, but John was hoping it would wait until he got home. Upon arrival he made a beeline for his dad so he could show him that he was okay, and to talk about his nice trip to the library.

 

Hours passed and nothing happened until the sun went down. He'd been expecting an angry call or something but what he got instead was a brick through their living room window and the word "killer" spray painted on their front door. John could barely believe his luck. The police were called again and they sent a car over to the man's house to have a little talk with him while John made sure to cling to his dad like a scared little child. It was nice to embrace his father and feel so comforted, and he decided he would miss him a lot once he was gone. They spent the evening together baking and playing games, both of them having such a blast that they were exhausted by the time they got to bed. As per usual John hopped online to say good nights and tell Dave and Rose (he was apprehensive about mentioning it to Jade lest she go on another rant) about the brick through their window. He made sure not to include what the word that was spray painted on his front door was because he knew Rose would psychoanalyze the fuck out of the situation, not that she wasn’t doing that already.

 

He went to bed much earlier than usual but ended up getting up before the sun so he could prepare things. His dad would be asleep for at least another two hours, and the sun wasn't even beginning to peek over the horizon, so he had ample amounts of time to set things up The first step was sneaking out of the house and heading over to Jennifer's, mostly to check for cops and collect some material evidence. There were none around currently, not even any undercover cars or surveillance vans. John made sure to check every vehicle on the block, even the ones in drive ways. When he was sure things were in the clear he went over to Dale's house and first stole the guys fingerprints from his car with scotch tape. After seeing if any of the doors were unlocked he headed around to the backyard, looking for things he could use.

  
By the time he got home the sun was painting the sky a deep orange to a blood red, which was very pleasing to his eyes. John hummed to himself quietly as he tossed a few cigarette butts outside of their kitchen window. It was the best he could do without breaking into their home, though what he'd been hoping for was to grab a pair of the guys shoes. He was lucky enough to find the cigarette butts though. John went inside feeling satisfied and scurried upstairs to climb into bed, hoping his dad hadn't noticed his absence. Twenty minutes later he could hear him get up and shower as per usual and promptly drifted off to sleep.


	7. let's talk about death baby.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"There's more choices to choose kid_   
>  _Bury the corpse in the ground, bury it at sea or the pieces get distributed_   
>  _When using the ground a shallow grave isn't allowed_   
>  _'Cause the corpse'll be found when the stench of it lingers out_   
>  _Make sure it's six feet deep or more_   
>  _Construction sites work in fermented_   
>  _In what's cemented suspended beneath the floor_   
>  _Using the sea has its potential sequentially_   
>  _The sea destroys all evidence eventually."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please note: i am definitely implying bro does in fact beat dave up, but it is consensual and goes both ways. they maintain a relationship outside of that and are not always assholes or silent swag boys. in fact, i'm kind of excited to portray bro eventually.

It was harder than he thought it would be, getting rid of his dad. Though the man had taken good care of John all his life and done what he could to make him happy John had little attachment to him. He knew all about his dad, how kind and caring he was, how hard he worked to give them both a good life and make sure John was taken care of. Dad always wanted what was best for his kid and for him to be happy and John used this as justification for his actions. His dad wanted him to grow up to be successful and for him to have a good life, and this was the best way to get there.

 

When his dad came down from his shower to find a table full of breakfast, John smiled at him and said good morning. He would make things nice for his dad; it was the least he could do. His dad was pleasantly surprised and sat down at the table. John served him up a bunch of pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. While they ate together John spoke of his future plans, his life goals, his friends. He talked about Rose and how they were going to the same school together and that she was already done high school; he talked about Jade and her crazy adventures and how she was always offering to take him along with her; he talked about Dave and his music, his philosophies, and about how good (and not so good) he was with words.

 

Of course, John had spoken of them before, hinted at interests and potential meet ups. He just wanted to make sure his dad knew how great things were going for him. When his dad announced that it was about time he leave for work John asked if he could tag along for a ride. Though his dad seemed confused he agreed to it so they got their things ready and then left together. John told his dad that before they went downtown he had to show him something suspicious he'd stumbled upon in the factory, and he admitted that this was the reason for him wanting to go downtown. So he could talk to the police about it. He said he'd taken some pictures.

 

His dad wanted to see the pictures but John insisted on showing him in real life. Dad relented to this because he cared about his son, though he was confused as to why this needed to happen before work. Luring him down into the depths was easy; his dad smelled the decay a lot sooner than John had expected. It made alarms ring in his head and he told John they ought to call the police. He went for his cellphone in his pocket and John slipped into the nearest room, suddenly screaming. His dad was instantly there behind him and looking around frantically, while John was waiting for him by the door. He smashed a brick into the side of his head, then again, then one more time for good measure. His dad wasn't dead yet though.

 

Quite brutally, John literally beat the living daylights out of him though he was as careful as possibly not to bruise his knuckles. Realizing he was  still alive after all that, John smashed his head in a few more times with the brick, which he'd conveniently stolen from Dale's backyard. Things were going according to plan so far. Before doing anything else, John took the car keys, his wallet, and his cellphone. Then he dragged the body onto a blue tarp he'd bought a day or so ago and wrapped him up. It was the best he could do.

 

With the deed done and his father’s corpse all wrapped up, John felt oddly numb and cold inside. He brushed it off and rationalized it was just the general familial sadness of losing a loved one and left the building. He made his way back to the vehicle and then drove it out into a new development area and left it after planting Dale’s fingerprints on the wheel and door handles. Walking back home took him over an hour but it was definitely worth it, and on the way he tossed the smashed phone into the river. Later that night he would be going out again to visit Dale, but for now he would sleep and go about his usual business.

 

He went out twice more that day, once to get some Chinese for a late lunch/early supper while casually calling Dale again, and then once more just before it got dark. He figured the man had no proof that it was John who was harassing him regardless of if he knew who the caller was. John was almost certain it would inspire the man to take some kind of action against him.

 

By 9 o'clock that night he began to express mild worry. He was talking to Rose, having a nice conversation about the dimensions of space and the concepts of the dimensions. He excused himself as if to make a phone call and returned fifteen minutes later (he'd actually just made himself some hot chocolate). When he returned Rose casually asked him why he hadn't gone for supper, and how his father was doing. John groaned slightly at the screen. Of course she would notice these things and make connections. More likely than not she had no idea his dad was dead, but she was always so good at catching onto when something not right was going on. John was always amazed by this ability of hers.

 

> TT: Is something bothering you, John?
> 
> TT: It seems as though there is something not quite right going on today.
> 
> EB: why do you always sounds so accusing and suspicious! :(
> 
> TT: It's not that I am accusing you of anything, I was simply observing that you've been off your game today.
> 
> TT: Something has been bothering you or occupying the majority of your attention.
> 
> TT: Does this have to do with Dave?
> 
> EB: no it doesn't!
> 
> EB: it has nothing at all whatsoever to do with him.
> 
> EB: it's... it's my dad.
> 
> EB: he hasn't come home yet.
> 
> TT: Is that so? When was he supposed to be home?
> 
> EB: around 5.
> 
> EB: he never showed up. didn't call.
> 
> EB: ...his work did though.
> 
> TT: Did they? What did they say to you?
> 
> EB: i'm really not sure. I was out when they called and we don't have an answering machine, so.
> 
> EB: i didn't call back because i thought it might have been him.
> 
> EB: but then, you know, he never showed up.
> 
> TT: Where were you?
> 
> EB: i went out to get chinese for a late lunch!
> 
> EB: i was just craving it and i thought i might enjoy a nice walk.
> 
> EB: all this stuff that's been going on is really starting to get to me, and now there’s this.
> 
> TT: You weren't scared that anything might happen while you were out?
> 
> EB: no! i mean yeah, a little bit, but i thought it would be okay.
> 
> EB: i just tried calling dad's work again but there was no answer!
> 
> EB: gosh rose, this is kind of unpleasant.
> 
> TT: Indeed it seems that way. Why didn't you call back sooner to see what he wanted? Perhaps that was him letting you know he had plans this evening.
> 
> EB: ...
> 
> EB: i guess that that is a thing that could have happened.
> 
> EB: i don't know, he does have a couple of friends from work that he only goes out with like once a month or something.
> 
> EB: so maybe they, uh, went to the bar or something.
> 
> TT: I see.
> 
> TT: And what about his cellphone, John? Have you thought to call that?
> 
> EB: oh yeah!
> 
> EB: no, i totally kind of just forgot about it, wow am i ever retarded.
> 
> EB: hold on, i'm going to go do that!
> 
> TT: Alright. Though it boggles my mind how you wouldn't have thought of that sooner, considering the distress you must be in. It's been a little over five hours.
> 
> EB: lsdfjsdfvnjls ROSE! >:(
> 
> EB: stop sounding like you're suspicious of my intentions or something!
> 
> TT: What would I have to be suspicious about, John?
> 
> TT: All I feel is concern and care for his well being as well as your own.
> 
> TT: Did you get an answer?
> 
> EB: no, no answer. i left a message for him telling him to get his thoughtless, careless, neglecting self back home asap.
> 
> EB: maybe something really good happened at work today and there was some big surprise celebration and i missed out because of dumb chinese food.
> 
> TT: Nothing of the sort happened. I checked online and asked my mother about it. She assured me that none of the stocks miraculously skyrocketed.
> 
> TT: I checked your papers too, just in case. I like to know what's going on over there in that humble city you call home.
> 
> EB: ...wow rose, you really read my news?
> 
> TT: Yes John, only your news, and news deferring to you.
> 
> TT: Such as missing persons reports and articles.
> 
> EB: :(
> 
> EB: are you trying to guilt trip me about jenny's dad AGAIN? rose what did i ever do to you to deserve such harsh treatment!
> 
> TT: I am not trying to guilt trip you at all.
> 
> TT: I was simply stating that I take interest in such things in relation to you.
> 
> TT: There have been quite a few people in your life who have mysteriously gone missing. Doesn't this ever bother you?
> 
> EB: well yeah, duh!
> 
> EB: it's not fun feeling like some outcast unlucky charm.
> 
> EB: it's also not fun having my best friend analyze the hell out of me any time something happens that is out of the normal.
> 
> TT: Really John, you've got to stop projecting your guilt onto me. What I say to you is not supposed to be guilt-inducing, you just always take it that way.
> 
> EB: ok rose, whatever you say! you're not totally passive-aggressively attacking me or anything.

 

They went on and on and back and forth like this for nearly an hour straight, half-bickering, half-playing around with each other. Of course Rose had been trying to guilt trip him. She was waiting to see him crack and he knew that she wanted to see if his insides were worth preserving or not, if he was really worth keeping around. It still bothered John immensely to try and figure out just exactly how much she knew about things, but then again, if she knew too much he wouldn't still be living the way he was. Rose would have called the cops as soon as she had any notable suspicions or proof, both of which were kind of hard to get when they lived thousands of miles apart. Maybe she just liked him too much to get him locked up.

  
They continued talking for a few more hours after that, gradually taking a casual and mellow tone. Eventually Dave signed on and they proceeded to fill Dave in on what had happened that day in a three-way conversation, until winding it down with talk about school and how important it was, which only pissed Dave off. When Rose went to bed John began attacking Dave with questions, asking him how he was and why he always seemed edgy these days. Dave bluntly ignored it and refused to talk about anything; it made John wonder if he'd messed up somehow, or if maybe Bro was being too harsh on him. Whatever was up with him John vowed to find out, even if it took awhile to do so. He went to bed thinking about pot, sword fights, and two sweaty dudes just battling it out like bros on top of a ridiculously tall building. It was interesting to say the least.


	8. "you better call the police, you better call the coroner"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Now, I'm not afraid to do the Lord's work,_   
>  _You say vengeance is His, but I'm a do it first,_   
>  _I'm gonna handle my business in the name of the law, aah, ohh,_
> 
> _Now if he made you cry, oh, I gotta know,_  
>  _If he's not ready to die, he best prepare for it,_  
>  _My judgement's divine, I'll tell you who you can call,_  
>  _You can call..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for waiting. i will try to post at the least a pesterlog in the next day or two, as i suddenly have a lot more free time and a bit more access to a computer. dog bless.

The next day went by uneventfully. John tidied up the whole house and then went out to buy some books he wanted to send to his friends. Of course, while he was out, he made another call to Dale, because it was like some kind of sick game they had going now. Dale always answered. It made John wonder if he'd lost his job or something, but of course he didn't ever ask. That would just be silly! John never directly gave himself away and so far as he was aware their conversations weren't being recorded (he figured that Dale was too distraught and angry most of the time to think of compiling physical evidence).

This time he urged Dale to come and get him, to act like a man unless he was scared of some pimply faced seventeen year old home schooled boy. After making his pleasant phone call John hung around downtown for awhile and decided to buy himself a few new sweaters, pants, socks, and then a new toque. He went to a mall and made sure to take his sweet time walking around and gathering things and somehow he ended up enjoying himself quite a bit despite the massive amount of people around him. By the time he was heading home, it was getting later in the day, which was exactly what he'd planned on. He even left a note on the kitchen table for his dad.

John hopped on a bus, then another, then was finally at home. The rides had been long and every bit as crowded as the mall but at least he had his several bags of stuff to separate himself from everyone else. Walking the few blocks from the bus stop to his house was the most difficult part, mostly because he had about four bags per arm and none of them were that light. Before he could reach his house he was suddenly blinded by headlights that made him flinch and look away. He heard the sound of a car door opening and then footsteps in the light layer of fresh snow. It could only be one person.

He'd had this on his mind all day. Seeing the man right up close and personal and getting to actually feel the anger radiating off of him was thrilling. John grinned at him widely and considered putting his bags down but didn't. He took a few steps towards Dale before he slid on his mask of fear and shied away, still angling to get to his house. His path was blocked by a thick, shaking arm and when he glanced at Dale's face, all he could see was a snarl. Though he probably should have felt at least a little afraid for his well being, most of what John felt was anticipation. When he went to take a step back Dale stepped forward and grabbed some of his bags, wrenching them out of his arms. John made himself gasp out loud and take another step away, the whole time staring at Dale's face.

His hair was long, greasy, and disheveled, and it looked like he hadn't shaved for days. Bloodshot eyes glared at John from under thick and angled eyebrows, and his jaw was set firm and tight. Dale looked about ready to beat John's face to a pulp. Even though he should have been at least a little unnerved by this, and even though he didn't doubt for a second that he was about to get hurt, he couldn't stop. It was all in the name of his big plan, this was in fact possibly the key element.

"Hey drunky, aren't you a bit too close for comfort? What, are you here to kill me?" He tries to make his voice sound worried and scared even though he's just mocking Dale. "Beat me into a little pulp? I hope you're proud of yourself mister, picking on some poor, unsuspecting k-"

Probably against his own will Dale grabs John's arm and yanks him close. His disgusting face is inches away from John's own. "You ought to be killed, you fuckin animal. You, you... you," He smiles in a strained, psychotic way, "you're far from bein some unsuspectin little shit, you an I both know it. Fuckin callin me all the time-"

"Calling? Why on earth would I want to call such an unpleasant person?"

He shakes John a little bit and throws him down to the ground. John sits there calmly among all his bags looking up at the others face. Dale tries unsuccessfully to say something in reply but he keeps stumbling over his words, getting angrier by the second. There are a few more curses before Dale finally gives in to his stupider side and kicks John in the chest. John rights himself and keeps staring so he does it again, then again and again and again. He gets John's stomach, his ribs, his arms, his head, even his face once or twice. Eventually John has to curl up to protect himself and he counts the seconds and minutes go by. By the time he starts really worrying about things Dale has suddenly stopped. His body aches and he thinks something must be broken, but he doesn't moan or whine. Dale backs away from him, panting and breathing heavily, so John attempts to get up.

At first he fails because of pains that run up his side, but eventually he gets to his knees and then stands. He turns his head and spits out a wad of blood, then grins. It hurts so much it's hard for him to even think straight but he knows there's something important he needs to do. 

“Do you feel better now Mr. Man? Hurting a kid? I don’t know if you hit hard enough to break anything, you’re gunna have to try a lot harder if you want me to end up in the hospital or whatever.” He flashes a bright, innocent smile before pouting. “What are you so afraid of? Hit me you pathetic shell of a man.”

John’s words seem to hit every nerve. Before he is fully aware of things Dale is on top of him and fists are colliding with his face. His glasses are definitely broken by now, and one of his eyes is too swollen to open. It feels a lot like he must have chipped a tooth and bit off some of his tongue as his mouth is full of warm, delicious blood. Just when he feels as though he may pass out from the pain, Dale stops and looks up. Perhaps someone has spotted them? John had been trying his best to keep quiet so as to let this go on as long as possible, though he was fully aware death was a small possibility. While Dale is distracted, John forces himself to sit up and try to grab him, aiming for his head. All he needed was some skin under his nails, a few hairs, some of Dale’s blood, anything that would be an obvious give away. It was now or never.

The man lets out a yell and brutally backhands John aside before getting into his vehicle and driving off quickly. As John lays there in his blood and pants, he can’t help but grin to himself. He is sure he scratched Dale’s scalp and now just has to figure out how to get home. As if in answer to his thoughts, he hears a door open and a curious woman call out at him. When he doesn’t respond she looks around before approaching him cautiously.

“Excuse me… are you? Are you all right?” He so obviously is not but the only response he can muster is a choked laugh. He wants to laugh and laugh and maybe go a little mad with it, but he doesn’t have the energy.

“I’ll be… it’s okay ma’am, I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I’ll be fine.” He sits up and tries not to cringe, though the look she gives him says she is very worried.

“You look awful kid! What happened? Should I call the cops?” She kneels down beside him for a closer look, frowning.

It takes a while but he eventually talks her down, and even though it is quite the trial, he drags himself and all his stuff home. It’s just down the block anyway. Though it may have been a good move to let this random lady get involved he was sure the cops would want to talk to her later regardless. His main priority was getting home to talk to Dave. The sooner Dave saw him, the sooner he got to plead his sob story, the better chance he had of getting his friend to come see him. He didn’t even care if his Bro came along or not, though many things would be a lot easier without the older Strider hanging around.


End file.
